Wrenches are available in a wide variety of styles and sizes. The most common types of wrenches are likely the open-end wrench and the box wrench. The open-end wrench has an opening of particular size and two parallel sides for engaging opposite sides of a fastener. The box wrench generally has a polygonal opening for contacting the circumferential surfaces of a fastener. Both of these wrenches are widely known in the art.
There also exist ratcheting socket wrenches, which hasten the process of inserting or removing a fastener considerably since ratcheting socket wrenches do not require that the wrench be removed from the fastener at the end of each turn. Ratcheting socket wrenches also have the advantage of being employable for a variety of fasteners, as sockets of diverse size may be releasably attached to the ratcheting body.
The disadvantage of most ratcheting socket wrenches is their size. Many times the ratchet and socket mechanism simply will not fit into the work envelope. Another common problem is that many times the insertion or removal of a fastener may be initiated with a ratcheting socket wrench, yet an open-end or box wrench is often required to finish the process. Such a situation may occur when, for example, space limitations around a fastener increase as the fastener's head position changes during insertion or removal. In this situation it is common to have and employ, both a ratcheting socket wrench and an open-end or box wrench. This entails the purchase of a wrench and a socket for each fastener size. Storage space becomes an issue, and there is the added annoyance of assuring that both wrench types are accessible when needed.
One aspect of the present invention is the elimination of the need for separate sockets and wrenches for the same fastener size. Another aspect of the present invention is a device that conveniently combines the benefits of both types of wrenches on one handle, thereby eliminating the need to search for and have available a second wrench.
The present invention contemplates a wrench having an open-end or box wrench at one end and a ratcheting socket wrench at the opposite end. The ratcheting socket wrench portion is made to pivot about the wrench handle to provide maximum flexibility of use.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the ratcheting socket wrench has a socket which is permanently affixed to the ratcheting body and fits the same size fastener as the open-end or box wrench on the opposite side of the wrench handle. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the ratcheting direction of the ratcheting socket wrench may be reversed by pulling axially downward on the socket and turning the socket slightly left or right as required.
In another embodiment of the present invention, a coupling member replaces the socket member. The coupling member is designed for releasable attachment to common sockets, thus allowing the ratcheting socket wrench to be used on fasteners of various size. The ratcheting mechanism may be designed for use with a particular range of socket sizes based on the size of the open-end or box wrench portion. This would eliminate the need for installing on every wrench, a ratcheting mechanism capable of withstanding the load of an entire socket size range. In this embodiment of the invention, the ratcheting direction of the ratcheting socket wrench may also be reversed by pulling axially downward on the socket and turning the socket slightly left or right as required.